President Lai Inspects 205th Arsenal, Warns Budget Cuts Hinder New Production Lines

According to the Central News Agency, President Lai Ching-te visited the 205th Arsenal of the Armaments Bureau in Kaohsiung on the 29th, praising the production of ammunition, explosives, and new light weapons. However, the President stated that the significant reduction in the special defense budget has made it impossible to proceed with six planned new production lines, affecting defense autonomy and military buildup schedules. The government will consider using special acts or supplementary budgets to address this. According to the Presidential Office, Lai visited the Air Force Southern Regional Combat Control Center and the 205th Arsenal. At the arsenal, he inspected automated ammunition production lines and commended their quality. Lai urged personnel to increase production capacity as the new T112 service rifles are being deployed. He pointed out that the Legislative Yuan's cuts to the special defense budget have halted plans to more than double ammunition production capacity. He emphasized that the government will address critical items like air defense and unmanned vehicles through special legislation or supplementary budgets to build sustainable, intelligent defense capabilities and ensure peace in the Taiwan Strait.